Mobile communication terminals have changed dramatically in the last decade. With the first 2 G terminals, the only real purpose was to make normal phone calls. Now with 2.5 G (GPRS), CDMA2000 and UMTS technology, coupled with software applications such as a calendar application, a contact list application and a task list application, the mobile communication terminals have evolved to take on the role of being PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant), in addition to being communication devices.
A problem found with using the mobile communication terminal as a PDA is that radio traffic generated from a mobile communication terminal may be prohibited in some situations, such as in hospital environments and while flying on airplanes. This has been solved with what is called ‘flight mode’, which is known in the art. Flight mode implies that transmission and reception of radio signals in addition to software components requiring radio interfaces are disabled, while software components that do not use any radio interfaces are still available to the user. For example, in flight mode it is not possible to make phone calls, but the calendar application is available. Consequently, while in flight mode, the terminal is safe to operate while the user is located on an airplane in flight or in a hospital environment.
One problem occurs when the user exits flight mode, e.g. when returning to ground again after having been on an airplane or when exiting a hospital environment and the user wishes to set the terminal to be in normal operation mode. At this point in time, the user is typically busy with several activities, such as disembarking the plane, finding where to exit the airport or to catch another plane, etc. Thus for the user to make desired changes in the mobile communication terminal for the new location is stressful and easily forgotten until a later, less optimal, time.
If a call reminder were to go off while the user is on a plane or somewhere else where the user is unable to make the call in the reminder, the user would then be forced to wait until he is allowed to switch on the RF components again. As some time could pass before the terminal is allowed to use the RF components again and when it happens the user might be pre-occupied with other tasks the user might forget that he was supposed to make a call and the reminder will then have been to no use.
Another reason for a user desiring, or even being compelled, to temporarily disable radio communication is that of integrity and security while using short range RF. For example, when using a Bluetooth® transceiver in the mobile communication terminal to send or receive data, it may be desired for security reasons to first check if there are any untrusted Bluetooth® devices within range, and only proceed with the transfer if no untrusted devices are found. This procedure can be both time consuming and irritating for the user.